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Saturday, February 23, 2013

Local Spotlight : ANANDA ORIGINAL clothing

Hello, hello! :) I received this wonderful t-shirt c/o of Ananda Original and thought I would share this brand. I'm all for showing support to those in my city and this brand here is just that, born and raised in Seattle established in 2011. The story behind it is very inspiring and definitely reminds me that there isn't any dream too big or too out of reach. I love my city !! (even with the bitter cold weather we have)

To share a bit of their story, I asked the owner and creator Joe Bui to give us a more detail description on birth of this brand. Happy Saturday! :)

HOW WE STARTED:This brand, unknowingly, started when I was in middle school..

Im from South Seattle and back in the days, everyone from the hood was apart of a gang. Tagging and graffiti was real big back then, and everyone had their own alias or aka. My alias was Bliss. I tagged Bliss everywhere I went. I didn't claim any gangs or colors, only the hood and street I grew up on, Rainier avenue. So I thought Bliss was appropriate. Bliss represented peace and tranquility in a neighborhood surrounded by violence and poverty. Thats where the name Ananda started, which means "bliss" in ancient sanskrit writing.

I grew up poor and even though I didn't have much, I made the best of it. I was never able to afford name brand clothing back then but thats what made me come to realize, its not about the brand of clothes you wear or who's name your wearing. Its about how it makes you feel when you put it on and how it looks on you when you see your reflection in the mirror. From then on my love of fashion grew.

I am definitely a cut & sew designer. Although right now we are more known for our snap back hats that fit more like fitted hats. We want to expand this brand into a full line of cut n sew collections, with more focus as a classier hip hop/street wear brand. Check out some of the things I've hand made myself in the Cut & Sew gallery here: http://anandaoriginal.com/gallery/?album=3&gallery=2.

This brand is a dream I had, and with my partners who are in it with me now, has helped turned this into reality. Shout out to everyone who has helped along the way. Without them, we would not be where we are today.

OUR MOTTO:

"Its not how you live but the principles you live by." -Ananda Original Garments (AOG)

INSPIRATION FOR OUR COLLECTION:

Ananda's inspiration for everything we do is to keep it classic. Sometimes the most beautiful things are also the simplest.